The Vine and the Branches

John 15:1-11

Let’s consider for a moment the picture Jesus paints here of himself as a vine, the Father as a vinedresser and Christians as the branches. Jesus, as the vine, is the source of all we need to sustain ourselves. We cannot exist without Him and really need to draw sustenance from Him on a moment by moment basis. To get a good picture of this example, find a vine, trim off a branch and see how long it lives.

Notice that the Father is the vine dresser and two activities are mentioned. First, He removes the branches that do not bear fruit. The proof of the Christian’s relationship to the Lord Jesus is the fruit we bear. That fruit may take many forms. The most obvious is our part in sharing the Gospel with other Christians and leading them into a personal relationship with Christ. Another not so obvious fruit is the prayer life we lead. If we effectively use the spiritual gifts the Lord has given us we will bear fruit.

The Father also prunes those branches that do bear fruit. He develops us so that our fruit is most productive for Him. To get a picture of this consider a rose bush. To get the largest, most beautiful blooms the gardener will prune off excess blooms on a branch so that each stem contains only one bloom; thereby producing a large beautiful flower. Another example is a fruit bearing tree. Frequently the orchard keeper will trim off many blossoms so that the largest, best fruit will be produced. The application, I believe, is that we should identify the gifts God has given us and carefully develop them and use them to honor Him. Notice v. 8 indicates the fruit we bear is proof of our relationship with Him.

Finally, the basis of our relationship with Him is love. He encourages us to “abide” in His love just as He abides in the Father’s love. Abiding in that love involves obedience to Him. We obey because we love and He provided the pattern for that. The result is that His joy is in us and our joy is full. The secret of Christian joy is abiding in Him as He does the Father.

The Holy Spirit

John 14:16-31

Jesus now shares more in depth about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the disciples as well as us. First notice the Father sends the Holy Spirit to us at Jesus’ request. Here Jesus refers to Him as the Helper. He is truly the facilitator of God’s will for our lives. Next, notice that there is a promise that the Spirit will abide with us forever. That is a change that the disciples don’t fully understand. Up until this time the Holy Spirit may have ministered to individuals in specific situations but He did not abide with them.

Notice in v. 21 as He speaks about Christians He says “he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to Him.” That is a tremendous promise Jesus has given us. The Holy Spirit is active in helping us to understand God’s Word as we study it so that we might learn more about our Savior. One way Jesus reveals His love to us is the sending of the Holy Spirit to dwell with us and minister to us in so many ways.

Jesus mentions two different ways the Spirit helps us in v. 26; He teaches us all things and He also brings them to our remembrance. My parents urged me as a child to memorize the Scripture and it is continually evident that the Spirit brings those verses back to my mind as I have need of them in my life. It is extremely important that we memorize Scripture so that the Holy Spirit can use it in our lives.

The Holy Spirit is also an agent of peace in our lives. As Christians, we have a settled assurance that regardless of what transpires in this world, our future is secure in Christ. We know that God’s best for us is going to be accomplished if we remain in His will. We also have the confident knowledge that our eternal life is secure.

We’re told in other places in God’s Word not to grieve (Eph. 4:30) or quench (I Thes. 5:19) the Holy Spirit, because if we do He doesn’t have free reign in our lives and we are unable to receive the benefits discussed above. Unconfessed sin in our lives impairs our relationship to Him.

I pray that you will seek to be obedient to God’s will in your life and will thrive in your relationship with Him.

Jesus Relationship With God The Father

John 14:7-15

The disciples clearly did not understand the relationship between Jesus the Son and God the Father. Jesus expresses disappointment about that as He responds to Philips question about that. Even though we have God’s Word and the Holy Spirit residing in us as Christians the concept of the Trinity is still difficult for us to comprehend and one we will probably not totally understand until we are united in heaven.

Jesus does reiterate that He perfectly reveals the Father and mentions three proofs of this fact. First, His character reveals as He says “I am in the Father and…the Father is in Me” (v. 20). He also claims that His words are the Father’s words (7:16; 12:49-50; 24). He also explains that the miracles He performs are evidence of the Father’s working through Him (5:36). The fact that the works or miracles that Jesus performs (5:36; 10:25, 38; 11:47; 12:37; 20:30-31) are gracious pointers to faith is a key element of John’s gospel.

Jesus now makes a very intriguing statement in v. 12 as He says “he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do…” That is because of the greater work of the Holy Spirit in our age. Consider the impact of great evangelists down through the ages.

Finally, He shares in this section that if we, as His children, ask anything in His name and the Father is glorified through the filling of our request, He will do it and also makes the statement that if we love Him we will keep His commandments. He set the pattern; we only have to follow.

I AM

John 14:6

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life;

no one comes to the Father,

but through Me.”

This verse contains the sixth of seven “I am” statements in the book of John. These statements provide a good description of our Lord and His purpose on earth. In summary they are:

1. John 6:48 “I am the Bread of Life”
2. John 8:12 “I am the Light of the World”
3. John 10:9 “I am the Door”
4. John 10:10 “I am the good Shepherd”
5. John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life”
6. John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”
7. John 15:1 “I am the true Vine”

When we think of bread we think of sustenance and provision. For the Christian Jesus certainly provides that. Through His Word and the ministry of the Holy Spirit we are spiritually sustained as we live and grow in the spiritual life. He also provides all of our needs as we trust Him to do so. I’m reminded of the promise in Philippians 4:19 that He provides our need “according to His riches in glory”.

Secondly He is the Light of the world. Because of sin the world is spiritually blinded. As the Light of the world, He, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit provides the spiritual light we need to trust Him as our Savior.

Next He proclaims to be the “Door” by which we enter eternal life by believing on Him and trusting Him as our Savior. He was willing to come to earth and pay the price for our sins so that we might enjoy eternal life with Him.

He also is the “good Shepherd” and explains that the good Shepherd “lays down His life for His sheep.” He was willing to die so that we might have life. I’m reminded of Psalm 23 and would encourage you to review it now.

Since He is “the resurrection and the life” it is through Him we have eternal life. He not only died, He rose again just as we will when He returns and calls us to be with Himself forever.

He is the one and only way for us to have an eternal relationship with the Father. He is the embodiment of truth and we can have complete confidence in every bit of truth He provides us. Since He has risen, He is also the life.

Words of Comfort

John 14:1-4

Jesus has revealed many difficult facts to His disciples. He has told them several times He is going away (7:34; 8:21; 12:8, 35; 13:33). He has also revealed to them that He would die (12:32-33). Now at the celebration of the Passover He has explained that one of them was a traitor and would betray Him (13:21) and that another would deny any relationship with Him (13:38). Another disciple, Matthew (26:31) also shares with us that Jesus told them that they would all “fall away”. Now in these last hours of His earthly life He shares words of comfort.

His message to them now becomes positive “Let not your heart be troubled”. Our heart is the center of our personality and we are responsible for its condition. Proverbs speaks much about our heart so let’s review some of its counsel:

3:1 “do not forget my teachings, but let your heart keep my commandments”
3:3 “do not let kindness and truth leave you;…write them on the tablet of your heart”
3:5 “trust in the Lord with all your heart”
4:23 “watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life”

I’m also reminded of a favorite verse in Philippians (4:7) which assures Christians that the “peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”.

He then shares with these men several facts about the future. He is going to prepare a place for them (and us). He will return and take us to that place so that we may eternally dwell with Him. The assurance of that hope is an outstanding promise to which we can look forward. We can endure and live victoriously in this sin sick world because we know it is not our home.

When difficult times and situations come into your life meditate on your relationship with your Savior and be careful to not let your heart be troubled. Thank God for His love for you.